There is a concept in early childhood education that I think can lead to mistakes: should we teach children to read as soon as possible? If there is an affirmative or negative response, the answer is clear: not for learning to read before, it will be a better reader.
But this does not mean that you have to avoid any contact with what reading means until you are ready to read. That is why, although fortunately there are no more children's teachers who "crush" their students with learning to recognize the words (or so I hope), children's libraries are becoming increasingly important. Does this seem contradictory? Let's explain.
All learning must be driven towards the satisfaction of the person who learns. It makes no sense to learn something that is not going to be exercised continuously, since the skill of what was learned would be lost without the effective time spent doing so being effective.
What is caused in early childhood education (from the age of three) is a natural approach to everything that has to do with books and reading: it is recommended that parents read before their children, picture books are introduced in class, a library is structured in which there are visual elements but also manuals (such as drop-down books), parents are encouraged to read their children a bedtime story ... With all this we try to get children interested spontaneously, first by the element itself (the book) and then by reading.
What has been ruled out is the systematic and methodical learning of reading without "propping it up" in the interest of the contents. The result will be functional since the child will be able to interpret the meaning of the words, but the most sophisticated possibilities of reading will be avoided as is the comprehension of the text or the adequate and understandable written expression of complex concepts such as feelings or projects.
These ideas are fully extended in early childhood education, but if in any situation you find a professional who defends otherwise, I hope you know how to explain this point of view. Our goal as parents should not only be that our children learn to read, but that they enjoy doing so.
